2024-08-23 07:38

KYIV, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Navy confirmed on Friday that it had destroyed a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz that was used to deliver fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Local authorities had earlier said the ferry was set ablaze and damaged in Thursday's attack on the port in Russia's southern Krasnodar region. "Another undoubtedly military objective has been destroyed. Its purpose was to provide fuel for the invaders. The ferry sank and this port (Kavkaz) is not usable until the ferry is removed," Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television. "It was the ferries that accounted for three quarters of all logistics and were the main channel (of supply)," he added. The ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks, said Fyodor Babenkov, district head of the town of Temryuk which includes the port. He said it sustained significant damage as a result of the attack, Kyiv's latest strike on Russian territory as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds on. The port of Kavkaz is one of Russia's largest outlets on the Black Sea. It handles ships both for exports and for fuel supplies to Crimea, seized by Russian forces in 2014. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-navy-says-it-destroyed-russian-ferry-attack-2024-08-23/

2024-08-23 07:18

Body of Mike Lynch's daughter recovered from yacht She was seventh and last victim of disaster Marine experts baffled by sinking in storm Boatbuilder CEO blames crew errors Wreck salvage operations estimated to cost up to 15 mln euros PORTICELLO, Italy, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Italian divers have retrieved the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, who was the last person still unaccounted for after the family's luxury yacht sank this week off Sicily. Seven people, including Lynch himself, died when the 56-metre-long (184-foot) sail boat, the Bayesian, capsized during a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Monday off Porticello, near Palermo. Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife and the yacht's captain. Lynch's family is devastated and in shock, a spokesperson for the family said on Friday, in their first public comments since the yacht sank. "Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue," the statement said. "Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief." Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese are looking into possible human error that might have led to the disaster. As of yet, nobody has been placed under formal investigation and none of the survivors have commented publicly. Hannah Lynch's body was discovered on Friday by specialist divers who have been scouring the submerged vessel for the past five days, a senior official with knowledge of the rescue operation said, declining to be named. The five other dead passengers were recovered on Wednesday and Thursday. The body of the only crew member who died, onboard chef Recaldo Thomas, was found near the wreck on Monday. Official identification of the corpses and autopsies will take place in Palermo. The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and should not, in any case, have sunk as quickly as it did. The yacht's captain James Cutfield, his eight surviving crew members and passengers have been questioned by the coast guard on behalf of prosecutors. Investigators are due to hold a news conference on Saturday. COMPLEX SALVAGE OPERATION Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group (TISGR.MI) , opens new tab, which owns Perini, told Reuters the shipwreck was the result of a string of "indescribable, unreasonable errors" made by the crew, and ruled out any design or construction failings. The Bayesian is lying on its side, apparently intact at a depth of 50 metres (164 ft). Pulling it out of the sea may help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly. Nick Sloane, a South African engineer who led the operation to salvage the Costa Concordia cruise liner that sank in 2012, said in Italian media interviews on Friday that the operation would cost up to 15 million euros ($16.7 million). He told daily La Repubblica that salvaging the yacht would take six to eight weeks, including preparation work, and would have to be completed by mid-October, without specifying the reasons for the timing. Bringing the yacht to the surface will have to be done "very, very slowly", and might take a couple of days, he said. Lynch, 59, was one of the UK's best-known tech entrepreneurs and had invited friends to join him on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June in a U.S. fraud trial. Among those who died in the wreck were Lynch's lawyer Chris Morvillo and Jonathan Bloomer, a Morgan Stanley banker who had appeared as a character witness in the case on his behalf. Lynch's wife Angela Bacares headed the company that owned the boat. ($1 = 0.8993 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/search-body-mike-lynchs-daughter-resumes-after-sicily-shipwreck-2024-08-23/

2024-08-23 07:12

Heavy rain in Tripura displaces over 65,000, kills 23 Gomti river still above danger mark, 1.7 million people affected Bangladesh floods displace hundreds, death toll rises to 13 GUWAHATI/DHAKA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Soldiers in lifeboats ferried people to safety in India's northeastern state of Tripura on Friday after heavy rain triggered floods and landslides, forcing more than 65,000 people from their homes and killing 23, authorities said. Television images showed army personnel manning the rescue craft, while cars and buses were marooned in streets of knee-deep water, and disaster management officials said four days of incessant rain had swelled rivers. "As of this morning, most rivers are flowing below the critical mark," said one of them, Suman Deb, although the intensity of the rain had reduced since Thursday night. "However, the river Gomti still continues to flow above the danger mark," Deb said, referring to the state's main river, which flows through the district of Comilla in neighbouring Bangladesh to empty into the Bay of Bengal. The displaced have gathered in 450 camps, the officials said, with a total of about 1.7 million affected, along with extensive damage to infrastructure, crops and livestock. Most deaths were caused by landslides, though some followed the collapse of mud walls and drowning, another disaster management official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. The Indian Army said more than 80 of its personnel joined in rescue efforts, bringing to safety 334 people stranded by rising floodwaters. In Bangladesh, the Gomti broke through an embankment late on Thursday, inundating at least 15 villages and displacing hundreds of families, officials and witnesses said. In the capital, Dhaka, some people alleged this week that the floods were caused by the opening of Dumbur dam sluice gates on the Gomti in India's Tripura, an assertion New Delhi has rejected as incorrect. The death toll from the flooding rose to 13 in Bangladesh, with over three million people stranded, according to the disaster management ministry. Several villages, fish farming enclosures, and crop fields in the coastal Khulna district were inundated after high tides caused river embankments to collapse, officials said, adding that blocked roads in several districts isolated people and hampered rescue and relief efforts. More than 75,000 people were taken to more than 1,500 shelters in the flood-hit districts, with military and border guards helping in the rescue, authorities said. Floodwater gushed through the districts of Feni, Moulvibazar and Noakhali where roads were inundated and ropes used to pull stranded people to safety, television videos showed. "I have never seen such a flood in my lifetime," said Noakhali resident Mohammad Alam. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/floods-landslides-indias-tripura-displace-tens-thousands-2024-08-23/

2024-08-23 07:10

COPENHAGEN, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula has seen a string of volcanic eruptions since 2021 when geological systems dormant for around 800 years became active again. Experts say the region, just south of the capital Reykjavik and home to 30,000 people, could experience so-called fissure eruptions repeatedly for several centuries. Following is a timeline of recent eruptions: AUG. 22, 2024 An eruption at Sundhnukar crater on the Reykjanes peninsula spewed glowing hot lava and smoke into the night sky around midnight with a fissure length of around 3.9 km (2.42 miles). The nearby area was evacuated although the lava was not flowing towards the nearby fishing town Grindavik. MAY 29, 2024 The eruption near Hagafell on the Reykjanes peninsula lasted for 24 days leaving a large area covered in solidified lava. The eruption was the most powerful since the volcanic system became active again three years earlier. Lava fountains reached a height of 50 metres (164 feet) and a fissure length of at least 3.4 km. MARCH 16, 2024 The eruption between the Hagafell and Store-Skogfell peaks lasted for 54 days, making it the second-longest on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021. It erupted in the same area as the previous outburst and spewed smoke, molten rock and bright orange lava from an estimated 3 km fissure. FEB. 8, 2024 This eruption lasted roughly a day, with lava spewing 80 m high from a 3 km crack. Lava flows damaged pipelines after which hot water supply used to warm homes was cut off during freezing winter temperatures. The Blue Lagoon closed after lava covered a road. JAN. 14, 2024 The eruption lasted two days, and the lava flow reached the outskirts of Grindavik, home to nearly 4,000 residents, setting three houses alight. DEC. 18, 2023 An eruption in the Svartsengi volcanic system near Grindavik sent lava and smoke across a wide area after weeks of intense earthquake activity. A roughly 4-km long crack in the ground stretched towards Grindavik. JULY 10, 2023 The small eruption of the Litli Hrutur volcanic system, some 60 km from the capital, resulted in gas pollution from lava, though it was far from any densely populated areas. AUG. 3, 2022 The three-week eruption in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system started after days of earthquake activity. Due to poisonous gases, tourists and residents were asked to avoid the area and a "code red" stopped airplanes flying over the site. MARCH 19, 2021 Lava fountains erupted from a 500 to 750 meters long fissure in the Fagradalsfjall system. Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months, prompting thousands of tourists to visit. More than 40,000 earthquakes occurred on the peninsula in the month leading up to the eruption, a huge jump from the 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes each year since 2014. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/iceland-sees-string-volcanic-eruptions-last-three-years-2024-03-18/

2024-08-23 06:41

Aug 23 (Reuters) - British energy regulator Ofgem on Friday raised its price cap on household energy bills by 10% from Oct. 1 to an annual level of 1,717 pounds ($2,250.64), a jump blamed on severe weather events and conflicts such as the war in Ukraine. "Ultimately the price rise we are announcing today is driven by our reliance on a volatile global gas market that is too easily influenced by unforeseen international events and the actions of aggressive states," said Ofgem's CEO Jonathan Brearley. "We know that this rise in the price cap is going to be extremely difficult for many households," Brearley said. Friday's rise of 10% for a typical dual-fuel household was slightly above analysts' forecasts. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said on Monday the cap was expected to rise 9% due to gas and electricity wholesale market prices, which have rebounded over the past few months. "While prices have stabilised somewhat compared to the previous two years, the market has not fully recovered from the energy crisis and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine," the consultancy said. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the rise was a direct result of what he described as a "failed energy policy" the Labour government had inherited from the Conservative Party. He said the policy left the country "at the mercy of international gas markets controlled by dictators". Cornwall Insight said measures should be introduced to protect the vulnerable from rising energy bills, and that in the long term a shift towards sustainable, home-generated energy was needed to reduce Britain's vulnerability to international shocks. "While we don't expect a return to the extreme prices of recent years, it's unlikely bills will return to what was once considered normal," said Craig Lowrey, from Cornwall Insight. Britain introduced an energy price cap for consumers in 2019. The average cost hit a high of 4,279 pounds in January 2023 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves through energy markets. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said energy bills remained 65% higher than before the crisis. ($1 = 0.7629 pounds) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/extreme-weather-geopolitics-send-uk-energy-bills-up-10-2024-08-23/

2024-08-23 06:33

"The time has come" to cut interest rates - Powell Dollar down 0.8% against its rivals Gold set for a weekly gain Aug 23 (Reuters) - Gold prices gained more than 1% on Friday as the dollar and Treasury yields retreated following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that signalled an interest rate cut in September. Spot gold rose 1.2% to $2,512.63 per ounce by 01:44 p.m. ET (1744 GMT), but was off a record high of $2,531.60 hit on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures settled 1.2% higher at $2,546.30. Powell said "the time has come" for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates and that inflation was nearing the Fed's 2% target, offering an explicit endorsement of an imminent policy easing. The dollar index fell 0.8% against its rivals, while benchmark U.S. 10-year yields also declined following Powell's speech, making gold more attractive for other currency holders. "Asset markets are reacting well, at least initially, to Powell's general, but somewhat open-ended comment that it's time for policy to adjust," said Tai Wong, a New York-based independent metals trader. "Gold will continue to grind higher ahead of the September Fed meeting and the updated dot plot which will indicate how many likely cuts this year." Lower U.S. interest rates also generally increase the relative appeal of zero-yield bullion. Gold might be over-positioned to the long end and we could see sell offs and some profit-taking, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities. "But longer term, gold should do well since the Fed is very much picking their game and trying to make sure employment doesn't weaken anymore and is not worried about inflation." Traders are expecting a 59.5% chance of a 25-basis point cut in September, while 40.5% expect a deeper 50-bps reduction. Silver rose 2.9% to $29.83 per ounce and was up nearly 2.7% for the week. India's silver imports are on course to nearly double this year due to rising demand from solar panel and electronics makers, leading importers said. Platinum gained 1.8% to $961.01 and palladium was up 2.6% at $956.69. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/gold-faces-weekly-fall-feds-powell-grabs-limelight-2024-08-23/